Q&A With Morgan buckert

Bootmaker Morgan Buckert. Photo courtesy of artist

How did you first get into bootmaking?

I grew up as the seventh generation of a Texas ranching family and always saw, used, and had access to really special things that were made by people in our community or famous people who we may have traveled to get something from. My parents had cowboy boots from probably the most famous bootmaker who ever lived, Charlie Dunn. And I admired those boots. I think they got them when I was in kindergarten, maybe. And so it was just something that was always around that was so special. And fast forward many years later, I was working with my hands a lot, creating handbags, started doing some leather work, and I saw the opportunity to go to a shoe school, and it brought me back to my childhood and my lifelong obsession with cowboy boots. I was like, oh, my gosh, I could make cowboy boots. And I found a mentor who lives very close to me, which I had no idea there was a bootmaker within an hour of my house, and I basically begged him to take me on. I worked with him for a couple of years and have had the opportunity to work with a couple of other bootmakers across the country since then. I started making shoes in 2013, so almost 15 years ago…and have never looked back.

“I am really known for my connection to the landscape, and my boots really represent places that are special to people, like mountains and wildflowers, and really personal connections to places. ”

What do you feel is unique about your bootmaking or leather working process? Do you think it differs from a lot of other bootmakers?

Yeah, I love being part of the bootmaking community, and I'm sure it's the same whether you're a saddlemaker, a silversmith, a rawhide braider, or whatever it is—we each have our own signature. I am really known for my connection to the landscape, and my boots really represent places that are special to people, like mountains and wildflowers, and really personal connections to places.

I took a look at some of the boots on your website and they're beautiful. And I especially noticed the bird boot you made.

“Old Maid’s Draw” made for Cowgirl Artists of America *Women’s Work* art exhibition in 2025.

The bird boots, which were made for an exhibition earlier this year, are really about connection to conservation in protecting the places we love to make sure that the plants and animals that are native to a place can survive there. So those boots feature nine migratory birds that are important to myself and my family and other friends who really appreciate birds. That was a really fun project.

Do you get to wear those boots?

They do not get to be worn. They live on a shelf, which some of my work does. And it's a challenge, but it's important for me and a lot of folks in the bootmaking community to have our work seen as art and not just a garment. And with that, some of our work gets left on the shelf.  

You were a history major in college. How does that influence your bootmaking?

Yeah, my undergrad and graduate degrees are in U.S. Western History, so I tend to think deeply about the people, and the places that we live in and travel through and enjoy, especially as westerners.

Have you taught a leather workshop before?

Yes, I teach a couple of classes a year. I teach a lot in my community, but I love to travel, so I teach in Idaho, and I teach in Texas where I'm from, and all over the place. I love sharing my work with people, and I love giving people tangible skills that they could take into their own life and use however they see fit to be creative, to fix things, and to just kind of stretch your mind in new ways.

Have you been to the Gathering before?

I have been to the Gathering before. I think that I started going about 10 years ago when I was in my early 30s, and it was just such a delight to go there with all my girlfriends. I have a strong connection to western culture, but many of my friends who go with me do not, and it is such a pleasure to introduce them to this whole new world that they've never experienced.

Where are some of your friends from? Are some from big cities?

Yes, friends from cities. I have a friend who grew up in Los Angeles, and her family is not from the United States, so just this idea of cowboys and cowboys having their own culture is, was, so foreign to her, and she loved it so much. I think the second year we went she ended up performing in the open mic. She was all in. She dove in head first.

That’s fun because you kind of get to see the Gathering through their eyes too.

Absolutely. Yeah, it's so fun to experience it, experience it as a newbie almost every year. I always try to bring someone new, and I think that makes it extra fun.

What did you do last year at the Gathering?

Last year, I led a kind of storytelling session with some fellow makers, maker friends of mine. I had a friend who is a tailor and designer, a friend who is also a cowboy bootmaker, and a friend who's a saddlemaker. Makers spend so much time alone and don't have the opportunity to share their stories, and I find that they're some of the funniest people I've ever met. And so I love exposing people to our specific work and some of the highs and lows of working by yourself.

That kind of reminds me of the lone cowboy stereotype, too, of being out on the range and having to entertain yourself.

Absolutely. Yeah, you're in your own head all day and in a flow state, similar to being on a horse. And so, yeah, that's actually a really great similarity. It's all the same, and that's especially why during winters out West coming together in person in Elko is by far a highlight of my winter.

“You’re in your own head all day and in a flow state, similar to being on a horse. ”

Morgan Buckert in her studio. Photo courtesy of artist

Is this your first time teaching a workshop at the Gathering?

Yes. I've had a relationship with the Western Folklife Center for a few years, but this will be my first time teaching a class at the Gathering. And I am a cowboy bootmaker, and it's really difficult to share my specific kind of work, because it's so labor intensive and really challenging. But this class that I'm going to be teaching includes some inlay and overlay work, and is a way to share a little bit of the kind of work that I do with the larger community, just give people a taste and have the opportunity to learn a new skill.

How long does it usually take you to make a pair of boots?

My boots average about 75 hours, and I do a lot of really decorative work on my tops. So that ends up taking a lot of time. It's really slow work, and I love it because it's a combination of math, creativity, and brute force. You get to use your whole body. And there's very few things that really offer that, but the kind of work that some of the makers do really embodies that full body engagement, which is really satisfying at the end of the day. 

What are you excited by about this year's Gathering?

Oh, man, I am always excited to see friends who I don't get to see very often. I love meeting new people in Elko because there's always just the most interesting person who you would never imagine meeting. I love just enjoying everything that happens there. The music and the poetry and the art and everything else, and it's just so nice to be able to relax and gather and laugh. I feel like laughing is probably the best part about being in Elko.